It is known to provide blade arrangements which are used in turbomachines, such as gas turbines, with damping elements. These serve for damping unwanted flexural and torsional vibrations which occur during operation in the turbomachine as a result of various excitations. In this way, HCF damage (short for “High-Cycle Fatigue” damage), which is induced as a result of high vibration amplitudes and which can lead to early material fatigue and consequently to a curtailed service life of the blades or of the blade arrangement, can be avoided. The damping elements in this case are arranged between the individual blades. As damping elements, as a rule movable bodies are used, which in the quiescent state first bear between the blade roots of the blades on the rotor or on corresponding support structures, and during operation of the rotor are pressed against the underside of the blade platforms of adjacent blades on account of the centrifugal force which acts in the radial direction. In the process each damping element comes into contact with the two adjacent blade platforms at the same time. As a result of this, the kinetic energy of a relative movement between the blades which is induced on account of vibrations can be converted into heat energy, as a result of the friction between the respective blade platforms and the abutting damping element. This damps the vibrations and altogether leads to a reduced vibrational load of the blade arrangement.
A blade arrangement, in which at least two damping elements are arranged between adjacent blades in series in the circumferential direction of the rotor in order to achieve an effective damping of the entire blade arrangement, is known from publication EP 1 154 125 A2. The damping elements which are disclosed in this publication are constructed in differing forms in order to be able to damp as large a number as possible of different vibration modes. Via the contact regions between the damping elements and the blades, and furthermore via the contact regions which are formed between the individual damping elements, vibrational energy can be converted into heat energy for vibration damping by means of friction action. However, the contact regions which are formed between the individual damping elements only have the form of a linear contact, with which is associated an only slightly pronounced damping action.